"Never show that to anyone" or how Aurélien became Orelsan

• Amazon Prime Video is putting online a documentary series on the rapper Orelsan this Friday.

• The series was directed by his brother Clément Cotentin, who filmed it for almost twenty years.

• We discover the rise of the artist but also his long-standing friendship with Gringe, Skread and Ablaye.

We are in Caen, at the very beginning of the 2000s. Aurélien Cotentin, a young hotel receptionist, takes advantage of the calm of his waking nights to write rap lyrics. One evening, he sneaks in his little brother Clément, who for several months has followed him everywhere and immortalizes his every move using a camera. He tells her about his daily life, his dreams, his vague projects in music. Between two confidences, he addresses the indiscreet objective: "Never show that to anyone". Aurélien does not yet suspect that a handful of years later, the whole of France will know him under the pseudonym of Orelsan.

Never show that to anyone,

it is also the title of the documentary series which traces the career of the Norman rapper.

Available this Friday on Amazon Prime Video, the six episodes were directed by his brother, journalist and director, who followed him step by step for two decades, from the seedy sofa of his first apartment, to the packed Zéniths of the late 2010. The result is highly addictive and sketches a funny and moving portrait of the artist.

The rise of a bunch of friends

“I started filming when my brother did his first concerts in small venues near Caen,” explains Clément Cotentin to 

. My goal was above all to hang out with his friends and him! As we are three years apart, it was the only way I had found. " His pals ? Gringe, Skread and Ablaye. Clément Cotentin follows them everywhere and becomes the privileged witness of their friendship and the rise of each in the world of music. He observes them writing, composing, delirious, hacking their first studios in a closet… He also sees them doubting, loitering, moving away and finding themselves. In total, the director patiently collected more than 2,000 hours of footage, a whole part of which was collected long before the first success of 

 in 2009.

“For a long time, I was filming but I thought I had nothing to tell. In addition, the development of my brother has been super slow. We can see all the small steps. But just because it hasn't exploded in a year or two that there was nothing to talk about. On the contrary, the story is even tastier, ”says the director. He thus chronologically traces his career - the hazardous beginnings, the springboard of MySpace, the

controversy 

 or the saving 

-, and also reveals the reverse side of certain songs or the making-of of concerts.

"The doc also provides all the keys to understand my brother's universe: his characters, his stories, his concepts, his irony, his second degree ... I wanted it to shed light on his past projects but also everything that it will do in the future, ”he emphasizes.

A family celebration

Never show that to anyone is 

a matter of friends, of music, but also of family. And that is perhaps the most touching aspect of this documentary series. We discover Orelsan as we have never seen it before, with his relatives and through the testimonies of his mother, father or grandmother. Sequences as funny as they are moving. "It's a fairly intimate portrait of my family," admits the director. Modest, all the same, but universal. It's not a reality show about my brother. "

We constantly perceive the tender gaze that Clément Cotentin poses on his eldest child and his friends, as well as all the love and admiration they have for them. "These four guys inspired me and showed me things, I learned my job by following them, I realized at their side that I liked the long format, that I wanted to take my time", notes director. Learning that goes well beyond the professional framework. "Build a team around you, give your maximum, do not let go, have freedom of tone and creation ... That's what I learned by following the guys", he admits. And the story doesn't end there. Clément Cotentin wants to continue “doing stuff with Orel”.

“I haven't finished filming it yet.

The adventure may continue, ”he says.

A confidence to put into perspective with the end of the sixth episode of the series, which should delight more than one fan.

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• Orelsan

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